Your Views: Breu wrong about research in column on Paul Ryan, poverty issue

Tom Breu of the Rock County Democratic Party embarrassed himself and his organization by resorting to factual misstatements and personal smears in a recent op-ed (“Paul Ryan’s poverty plan comically ignores value of living wage.”)

Breu claimed that the Employment Policies Institute (EPI), where I am research director, supported economic research from San Diego State University professor Joseph Sabia via a “shell company.” This isn’t true. In fact, EPI has provided research grants directly to Sabia and his university to support empirical study on topics of interest related to the entry-level labor market.

Sabia, whom Breu dismissed as an “expert-for-hire,” is in reality a nationally recognized labor economist with research that’s been published in top peer-reviewed journals. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office even cited his work in its February report on a $10.10 minimum wage. When someone with Sabia’s academic pedigree cautions that a higher minimum wage could cause job loss, serious people take him seriously.

Unfortunately, Breu’s writing suggests that he’s not a serious person. Readers in Janesville can decide for themselves whether to take the word of an expert economist or a political partisan.